DIY, Budget, Large-Scale Wall Art

When I first envisioned my guest room, I imagined painting a large-scale mural on the wall. But once I began painting it was just a big, ol’ mess. Just about everything that could go wrong with the mural went wrong. The lines weren’t crisp and clean, then when I went to sand them down and start over, the paint started peeling off the wall. (I think I bought the wrong finish.) It was disaster after disaster. So, I let myself be sad about it for a day and brainstormed other options. I kept thinking of Piet Mondrian‘s geometric paintings and how I could create something similar. Using wood seemed to be much easier for someone with little background in painting (i.e. me!). It also seemed like it might be able to add some much-needed dimension to the room. Win-win!

I didn’t plan to share how I created the art, honestly, I thought no one would be interested, but on Instagram I had a lot of people ask how I created it! So, I apologize if there aren’t many pictures or the instructions are a little loosey goosey. I wasn’t planning on sharing a how-to, but you can do this too, I promise!

First, I measured how large I wanted the art to be. Then, I went to the hardware store and looked at the different board sizes. I picked out about five different-sized boards for my space. Plus one board for the backside of the art. I knew I would be using the pieces more than once, but at the time, I didn’t have a clear vision for exactly how I wanted the art laid out. The wood cost about $50.

I had previously bought 5 different colors of paint samples for the mural. I had decided to simply reuse those colors for the wall art, as well.

Then I went home and got to cutting! I cut the widest boards first and decided to build around them. Honestly, laying this piece out in an eye-pleasing configuration was the hardest part of this project! It took hours to get it right.

After I cut all of the boards and laid them out into a configuration I was happy with, I took a picture of it and labeled the back with the order. Then I mocked it up in Photoshop to see the colors next to each other. If you don’t know how to use Photoshop, I don’t think that’s a deal-breaker. You could draw the shapes with a simple pen and paper, then color them in with colored pencil, until you like what you see!

Next, I reassembled the piece and painted each board according to my mock-up. After the paint was dry, I took wood glue and glued on the smaller, dimensional pieces. I also glued some of the smaller, lightweight pieces to the piece beside them. At this point, I had four large chunks.

So, I didn’t have to put screws through the front of my work to hang it on the wall, I took a 2×4 and ripped it at a 45 degree angle. I then laid the four chunks face-down and screwed the top half of the 2×4 into the four pieces. Then screwed the bottom half of the 2X4 to the wall. Finally, I was able to hang it onto the wall. If this is confusing, I know. It would’ve been easier to buy a Hangman Heavy-Duty Hanger. Just make sure to secure it into the wall studs! It’s heavy! (You’ll probably need a partner for this part!)

This project would have been great with leftover wood, I just didn’t have any wood leftover at the time. It also would look great in different colors, a monochrome or stained wood.